Footage has emerged that shows the moment an eel fisherman went above and beyond to save the life of a humpback whale. The fisherman, known only as Sam, dives onto the back of the gigantic sea creature and cuts it free from a load of fishing line that it had become entangled in. It’s stirring stuff, trust me. Sam and his crew were returning from their commercial fishing trip off the coast of California when they spotted the huge cetacean having what can only be described as a shocker. Sam’s friend and co-worker Nicholas, who shot the dramatic footage, said: “We were coming in from fishing and there was a white…

China just issued an announcement that is causing public outcry across the world. Even though the buying and selling of tiger and rhino body parts in China has been banned for the past 25 years, suddenly the State Council announced that the domestic trade of these endangered animal parts would be allowed once again, if sourced from the country’s captive tigers and rhinos. “Powdered forms of rhino horn and bones from dead tigers can only be used in qualified hospitals by qualified doctors recognized by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine,” the announcement read. But making the domestic trade legal again could actually worsen the impacts of the trade…

It only took a second for a stressed-out circus lion to pounce through a safety net and into the crowd. The arena erupted in screams as the trainer struggled to pull the leashed lion off a 4-year-old girl — and then the footage went dark. This was the terrifying scene recently caught on camera at a circus in Krasnodar, Russia, which features animals doing tricks just feet away from the crowd. The young girl reportedly approached the flimsy fence while waving a small banner in the air, which prompted a predatory response from the lion. The lion pulled the girl into the ring before trainers were able to separate them.…

Four months ago, 36 dogs were headed to the worst possible fate. The dogs had been tied up in burlap sacks, and their muzzles were bound with rope, which made it hard for them to breathe. Then they were thrown into the back of a hot, boarded-up truck, and driven to a dog slaughterhouse in India. While it’s widely known that dogs are killed for their meat in South Korea and China, the trade is less publicized in India — yet Humane Society International (HSI) India estimates that more than 30,000 stray dogs and stolen pets are slaughtered in India each year. But for these lucky dogs, rescuers from HSI…

There are many different types of people — and, therefore, there are also many different types of pets. Leeches, for instance, while perhaps an underdog kind of pet, are still viewed by some people as a perfectly suitable companions, bloodthirstiness notwithstanding. And just like an unwanted dog or cat, pet leeches can also be abandoned. That’s exactly what happened to three leeches now named Buffy, Angel and Spike. Last April, a small tank was left just outside Animed Vet Surgery in Kent, England. “The three real-life ‘vampires’ were found in a tank on the vet’s doorstep, with nothing but a note that read: ‘Sorry, can’t look after them anymore,’” the…

Beacon was born to a breeder and sold to a family who was told he was a “mini pig.” The breeder told the family that in order to keep Beacon small, they should only feed him very, very small amounts of food, and they should also keep him in a smaller space in order to stunt his growth. His family took this terrible advice — and kept Beacon in a fish tank. After a while, Beacon’s family decided he was too much for them to handle, and put an ad up on Craigslist asking for someone to take him. Someone came across the ad and posted it in a pig…

What would you do if you were happily eating your lunch with friends and someone brazenly storms over knocking you on to your back in the middle of the street? You’d probably try and jump back on to your feet, bruised ego and all, in pursuit of the scoundrel that humiliated you in front of your mates. But what if you weren’t able to get up – like sheep, for example. Well, that’s exactly what one young sheep farmer claims local teenagers are trying to do to his animals. Credit: Triangle News Aaron Whitehouse, 21, bought his first flock of sheep with his birthday money and now fears they could die…

Heart-wrenching footage shows a bull dragging itself along after breaking both of its back legs during a bull running festival in Spain. The clip was shared by animal rights group Animalist Party Against the Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) to highlight the mistreatment of bulls forced to take part in bull running festivals in Spain. Credit: CEN Filmed in the village of Mejorada del Campo, the footage starts off showing the bull in a transportation cage, ahead of the festival, but the animal attempts to make its escape from the cage and jumps to the ground. However, as it makes impact with the concrete its legs buckle and break, according to local reports. The injured animal can then be seen dragging itself…

A wildlife official is facing backlash after boasting the number of animals he’s shot and killed while hunting. An Idaho Fish and Game Commissioner, Blake Fischer, and his wife have been slammed for posting photos with the 14 types of animals they’ve killed. Credit: Idaho Governor’s Office Some of the animals they’ve slaughtered included a giraffe, leopard, impala, sable antelope, waterbuck, kudu, warthog, gemsbok (oryx) and eland. He is then reported to have sent the photos and descriptions of the kills to more than 100 people. Many of the images show the animals posed in a stereotypical African game hunting style, with one caption reading: “So I shot a whole family of baboons.” Now a spokesman for Governor C.L ‘Butch’ Otter’s Jon Hanian told The Idaho Statesmaninthe governor’s office…

The Western Cape High Court has ruled in favour of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) petition to reduce the total allowable catch of West Coast rock lobster. The court stated that last season’s Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 1 924.08 tons was “unsustainably high” and is not aligned with the Constitution, the National Environmental Management Atc and the Marine Living Resource Act. After the plight to bring the unsustainable catching of West Coast rock lobster to the attention of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), the WWF has made a positive stride in ensuring the conservation of these crustaceans and possibly save them from extinction. The High Court…